Cozy Blanket
Yesterday I finished the blanket I was weaving! It turned out really well, and is already getting some use!
(I don't know that any of ya'll are weavers, but here's the info anyway, since this is the internet and who knows who might find this post!)
Yarn: Harrisville Shetland. This yarn is very scratchy when you're weaving. I actually felt like I was getting rug burns on my fingertips when I was twisting the fringe. However, it washes up considerably softer, though still not merino soft. I think I might wash it once more and see if that fluffs it up a little more still. Despite the scratchiness on the hand, it weaves exteremely well. I didn't break a single warp thread and the cones had fewer than 1 knot per 8 oz from what I saw. Excellent quality.
Color Pattern: I designed the plaid myself with some weaving software and I'm really pleased with the final appearance. Brent helped me pick out the colors and he insisted I get something that contrasted so that's how I ended up with the "camel" or light gold colored border. It matches the furniture in the living room very well.
Weave Structure: It's double-width plain weave. It was really easy to thread and treadle. I had a few minor selvedge issues at the fold. I did sett the 4 threads on the fold wider than the rest, and that definitely seemed to help. I had to go back and fix one thread that was too loose, and a couple threads that were too tight at the fold, and now after washing, I can't really see any problems along the fold line. I did have a few other skipped threads, mostly on the bottom layer, that I had to fix by hand. I probably spent about half an hour examining both sides of the blanket and fixing any skipped threads I found.
Finishing: I washed it in the machine on gentle with some citrus scented wool wash. I let the machine spin out the rinse water, then laid it outside over the porch rail to dry. I may wash it again to get a little more fulling and softness.
(I don't know that any of ya'll are weavers, but here's the info anyway, since this is the internet and who knows who might find this post!)
Yarn: Harrisville Shetland. This yarn is very scratchy when you're weaving. I actually felt like I was getting rug burns on my fingertips when I was twisting the fringe. However, it washes up considerably softer, though still not merino soft. I think I might wash it once more and see if that fluffs it up a little more still. Despite the scratchiness on the hand, it weaves exteremely well. I didn't break a single warp thread and the cones had fewer than 1 knot per 8 oz from what I saw. Excellent quality.
Color Pattern: I designed the plaid myself with some weaving software and I'm really pleased with the final appearance. Brent helped me pick out the colors and he insisted I get something that contrasted so that's how I ended up with the "camel" or light gold colored border. It matches the furniture in the living room very well.
Weave Structure: It's double-width plain weave. It was really easy to thread and treadle. I had a few minor selvedge issues at the fold. I did sett the 4 threads on the fold wider than the rest, and that definitely seemed to help. I had to go back and fix one thread that was too loose, and a couple threads that were too tight at the fold, and now after washing, I can't really see any problems along the fold line. I did have a few other skipped threads, mostly on the bottom layer, that I had to fix by hand. I probably spent about half an hour examining both sides of the blanket and fixing any skipped threads I found.
Finishing: I washed it in the machine on gentle with some citrus scented wool wash. I let the machine spin out the rinse water, then laid it outside over the porch rail to dry. I may wash it again to get a little more fulling and softness.